TY - JOUR AU - Brenk, Arkadiusz Patryk AU - Malecha, Ziemowit Miłosz AU - Tomków, Łukasz Tadeusz PY - 2020/06/05 TI - Numerical methodology for analyzing the performance of a solar updraft tower in various environmental conditions  JF - Journal of Power Technologies; Vol 100 No 2 (2020) KW - Solar updraft tower, meteorological conditions, OpenFOAM, heat transfer N2 - This paper investigates a simplified and fast numerical model of a solar updraft tower. The model applies a novel approach to the calculation of heat transfer from the outside environment to a collector in the tower. Complex calculations of heat transfer are replaced by a properly defined heat flux boundary condition - the value of which depends on the time of day and meteorological conditions. The model was validated by experimental results from a pilot plant in Manzanares, Spain. Calculations were performed in order to investigate the effects of the chimney's height and the density of the solar radiation. Both of these dependencies were found to be logarithmic. The requirements for a 250~kW plant in various locations with different meteorological conditions were analyzed. UR - https://papers.itc.pw.edu.pl/index.php/JPT/article/view/1353